Mischief on Christmas
by NeverEndNeverland
Summary: Christine is spending the holidays with her Uncle, Neil Miller, and his family. Days before Christmas, Scott Calvin shows up for a visit and the family insist on spending Christmas up North. Not learning that Scott is Santa Claus, Christine is amazed at her first trip to Canada. So, what does she think when she unknowingly agrees to help Jack Frost enact the Escape Clause? [JFxOC]
1. Chapter 1

It only took one moment. One moment to almost give Christine Miller a heart attack while reading one of her favourite novels, _The Hobbit_. Her bright blue eyes danced across the pages from behind her onyx coloured, wire rimmed reading glasses. She sat on the gold and red patterned love seat, lying with her back against the arm while her legs stretched out across the cushions. Quietly, she mouthed the words on the pages with her lips, short blonde hairs just above her thick eyelashes. The fireplace was not lit, and there was no heater on, but that didn't quell the warmth she got from the house itself, as well as from her pale blue sweater.

She has read this book countless times, especially during her childhood. Christine grew up learning all there is to know about Middle-Earth. J.R.R. Tolkien was by far her favourite author, and his books were her religion. Well, that's stretching it, but she couldn't help but worship the classic writing style and adventures of these books. Of course, she has read and loves other novels, including the _Harry Potter_ series, _A Song of Ice and Fire_, and all of the _Sherlock Holmes_ works, but _The Hobbit _and _The Lord of the Rings _was always a part of her life. It's endless enjoyment on her part.

Back to point, she was reading along to the words on the book, eventually reading out loud, which was a habit of hers when she got immersed into the story. Currently, she was reading Chapter Eleven, _On The Doorstep_, when the incident happened.

_"...was neither brush nor tree, only broken and blackened stumps to speak of ones long vanished. They were come to the Desolation of the Dragon, and they were come at the waning of-"_

"What'cha doing there, Chris?"

Christine jumped, the small, paperback novel hopped out of her palm and onto the floor as she gasped. She looked up as she put a hand over her chest, where her heart was racing away. Standing next to the love seat was her younger cousin, Charlie Calvin. He wore a smirk as he watched her eyes turn frantic, it was always easy to scare her.

"Gods, Charlie! Don't frighten me like that!" She exclaimed, sitting up straight, glaring at him fiercely while pushing her glasses into her hair. "You know how embarrassing it is that I jump easily." For being an adult in her twenties, she sure did act like a child sometimes. And that's what amused Charlie.

"I know, I know," he laughed lightly, shaking his head. "Sorry about that."

"No you're not." She sighed, closing her eyes before bending forward to reach for her worn copy of _The Hobbit._ "I came here for a peaceful visit with my uncle and you guys, but you use it to take advantage of my vulnerabilities." She was mad at him, but of course couldn't stay that way. He's just a teenager, and she did care about him as family. He had redeeming qualities, when he isn't frightening her half to death with his pranks. "What was it you wanted, anyway?"

"I just wanted to ask if you could take care of Lucy for me while I go hang out with friends." Charlie spoke a bit hesitantly, his deep brown eyes shifted towards his shoes while his hands were in his pockets. Christine smirked at the fact that his cheeks were flushed.

"You mean that you want to go out with Danielle, Casanova." Christine laughed lightly as he gave her an incredulous look. Before he could object to her insinuation, she waved him off. "Go, go, it's fine! I'd love to watch Lucy."

"Thanks, Chris! I swear, I'll be back soon!" Charlie said after a moment of recollection. "I owe you one!" And then he was off, out of the house within moments.

"Why do I feel like I'll regret this?" Christine sighed, but smiled nonetheless while turning back to the page she was on in the book, placing her glasses back on the tip of her nose.

* * *

><p>It was about a half hour later that Lucy hopped down the stairs from her bedroom, a confused look on her face innocent face.<p>

"Hey, Chrissy, where did Charlie go?" The pre-teen asked, her ginger hair set in pigtails swayed to the side as she tilted her head.

"He went out, so I'm in charge." Christine looked up from her book, smiling brightly at Lucy, her youngest cousin. She was so cute and sweet, it was safe to say that she was one of the main reasons she came to visit this Christmas. "Would you like me to get you anything?" Christine then asked, bookmarking her page, which was about Chapter Thirteen, and placing it on the coffee table. "Perhaps some of my special hot cocoa and cookies?"

"Oh, please, please, please!" Lucy beamed with happiness, knowing exactly how she loved the treats. She had them often, but there was no way she was about to stop loving them. Especially after finding out about her Uncle Scott, which unfortunately, Christine knew nothing about except that he was a toy maker married to Charlie's old principal. "Can I have marshmallows? And cinnamon!"

"Of course!" Christine giggled at the girl, making her way to the kitchen, Lucy following closely at her heels.

In the kitchen, Christine went to work on preparing the milk on the stove top and the cocoa in the ornate mugs. Lucy's was an adorable mug with snowflakes and a reindeer on it. Comet, she insisted on calling it. Christine's was brought from home, being her special coffee mug, just a simple, slightly rounded square mug that was black on the outside and red on the inside. She collects mugs, and this was her first ever mug she bought on her own when she was a child.

"What book was that, Chrissy?" Lucy suddenly asked after a moment of silence. Christine grinned over her shoulder at her while opening the cookie jar and taking out two snickerdoodles. Her favourite!

"One of my favourite books, ever. It's a book about magic and adventure, filled with wizards and elves and-"

"Can you read some of it to me?" Lucy tilted her head again. This question surprised Christine for a moment. "You're always reading it, ever since you got here. I wanna know what it's about. Sounds fun!"

"Of course I'll read some of it to you." Christine said, after pouring the milk into the cocoa powder in the mugs, stirring it thoroughly. "It may sound boring at first, but trust me, it gets a lot more fun after a bit. You just have to listen to the words." She then laughed lightly, placing Lucy's mug in front of her. "Only if you really want me to, of course."

"Yes, please!" Lucy was convinced.

"Ok, ok," Christine laughed again, carrying her warm mug in her hands. "Let's go to the living room, it'll be more comfortable in there."

Lucy followed Christine back into the living room, both sitting on the love seat that Christine was sitting on earlier. Lucy sat close to Christine as she placed an arm around the small girls shoulders after replacing the book on the coffee table with her hot chocolate. Christine ignored the bookmark and went straight to the first page of Chapter One, _An Unexpected Party_. She cleared her throat before reading out loud softly, but trying to keep it interesting for Lucy, who was too young to understand the book on her own.

"_In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort._"

"Chrissy?" Lucy interrupted quietly. "What's a 'hobbit'?"

"Don't worry, Lucy, the book explains what they are soon." Christine reassured her before she set to continue, but Lucy interrupted again.

"Can you just tell me now?"

"Sure." Christine gave in with a smile. "Hobbit's are small people, half the height of your parents or myself."

"So, kind of like elves?" Lucy asked, looking up at Christine with her bright, green eyes.

"I suppose so." Christine chuckled. "But elves in this book are different than ones we would normally think of. They're tall and elegant, living beyond the years that of other magical creatures in this book. Hobbits aren't exactly magical and have large feet, where the bottoms of which are so tough and the tops covered with enough hair that they don't even need to wear shoes."

"Ew!" Lucy exclaimed. "That sounds gross! Hairy feet?"

"Yes, I guess it does sound gross." Christine laughed, shaking her head. "But they are lovable people, kind, fun loving, and family centric. Just like we are with each other." Lucy giggled at that. "This book, _The Hobbit_, is obviously named for following the story of one particular hobbit, on his road to adventure. And then it branches off, years later, into another series of books called _The Lord of the Rings_."

"Isn't that a movie?" Lucy asked. "I remember when mom and Charlie wanted to watch it."

"Yes, yes it is." Christine nodded. "Now, you're really going to have to pay attention if you want me to read you this book."

"Sorry." Lucy smiled lightly before leaning her head on Christine's shoulder again.

"Where was I? Oh." Christine looked at the page again before reading.

"_It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened..._"

* * *

><p>About an hour later, the door to the house opened, causing Christine to look up from the book and smile as her uncle, Neil Miller, and his wife, Laura, walked into the living room, a bright green tree in their arms. Lucy had long since fell asleep in Christine's arms while listening to the book. Not that she was bored of the story, on the contrary she was quite invested into it. But it's reminiscent to a bedtime story, so she inevitably fell asleep sometime into Chapter Two. However, at the noise of her parents returning, Lucy stirred and blinked the sleep from her eyes.<p>

"Need any help?" Christine offered them while they trudged into the living room.

"No, thank you. We've got it." Neil stated while panting. He and Laura quickly placed the base of the tree into the holder that sat on the floor behind Lucy and Christine. Neil held it in place while Laura bent down to tighten the holder to keep the tree in place. "Nice, isn't it?"

"Very much so." Christine grinned while Lucy, who finally was fully awake, shot up from her seat.

"Are we going to decorate it tonight?!" Lucy exclaimed, excited. It was no secret that Christmas was her favourite holiday. Christine was partial to it, as well, as she favoured the cold and the time she spent with family in the holiday season. And who could argue with the gifts? But she prefered to give them than to receive them.

"If you want to, sure." Laura laughed lightly, smiling at her daughter. Christmas was just around the corner, anyway.

Excitedly, Lucy sprinted off towards the closet, where the Christmas tree decorations were stored away. Neil laughed and followed after her.

"Be careful, sweetie, you can't reach that high." Christine heard Neil say in the hallway and assumed Lucy was trying to reach the top shelf of the closet. She shook her head, picturing it in her mind, before Lucy came back into the living room with the box in her hands. Neil had another box in his arms, that held other various decorations for around the house.

"Where's Charlie?" Laura then asked Christine, opening the box that Lucy set down on the coffee table.

"He went out, but he should be back soon." Christine replied. "Definitely before dinner, I'd assume." She grinned while looking at her watch, ticking away quietly. It was just about dinner time anyway. Aside from the fact that they still need to cook it.

"Normally, I'd be upset he left without telling me," Laura said with a disapproving look before smiling and placing a hand on top of Christine's. "But since you're here and were able to take care of Lucy, I'll make an exception."

"That's probably why he left, since someone else that was capable had some free time." Christine chuckled.

"Hey!" Lucy seemed offended. "I'm old enough to take care of myself, you know!"

"Of course you are, sweetie." Laura said, stroking some of Lucy's bright red hair.

"Let's get ready for dinner before we decorate." Neil suggested, noticing the time that Christine subtly pointed out earlier.


	2. Chapter 2

"If you want, I could go out and get some ice cream." Christine suggested after dinner, since Lucy has been begging to have some dessert while decorating the Christmas tree. Charlie had already gotten home, and joined the family to eat, and was now helping out with the decorations. Laura and Neil both didn't want to go out and buy anything after already getting the tree, and they didn't trust Charlie to drive safely on the snow covered road by himself.

All that was left was Christine, since Lucy was still way too young to even learn how to drive.

"If you don't mind, Christine." Neil said, grateful to his niece after Lucy's relentless begging. "We'd really appreciate it."

"Ok, I'll be back soon."

"Chrissy! After you get back, can you read more of your book to me?" Lucy ran up to her as she grabbed her grey, faux-fur lined coat off the rack next to the door.

"Sure thing, kiddo." Christine giggled at her adorable cousin before walking out the door. "I'll be back in a few!"

* * *

><p>Humming to herself as she got out of the silver Chevrolet Blazer, her own car, Christine gathered the plastic bag that carried the different flavours of ice cream and walked towards the house. She heard a noise coming from the back of the house, in the yard. Curiosity got the better of her, so she went to explore. Only, what she didn't expect was to see a small sleigh that was harnessed to two reindeer in the back yard.<p>

That was...different.

"Well, aren't you cute." Christine smiled at the creatures, hesitant to reach out and touch the soft fur on the left one's head. It seemed to make a sound similar to a giggle, which shocked Christine as she withdrew her hand, eyes wide. The one on the right growled lightly at the left one in warning before nudging Christine's hand before she pulled back all the way. "That was weird." She then smiled again, scratching the right one behind the ears. "But nonetheless, still adorable. But sorry, I've got to go inside, now."

She didn't even realize that the owner of the reindeer was inside the house.

"Uncle Neil, Aunt Laura, I'm back!" She called, placing the bag down so she could slip off her coat before hanging it up. "And I got ice cream for Lucy!" Christine laughed in a sing song voice, picking the bag up and walking into the living room. She stopped short as she spotted another person, a man, standing amongst her family. He was tall, with a rounded belly and cheeks, with white hair and a bushy white beard. He wore a sweater that was designed with snowflakes and reindeer. Well, at least she knew who the sleigh belonged to. And if she didn't know any better, he could have been Santa Claus.

Of course, that was just impossible.

"Christine," Laura started with a crooked smile, almost like she was hiding something. "This is my ex-husband, and Charlie's father, Scott Calvin."

"So you're the infamous Christine." He walked forward, reaching out his hand with a jolly smile. Ok, he really did strangely resemble the man in the red coat. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you to, sir." Christine smiled, taking his hand in hers and shaking it. "I've heard so much about you."

"As I of you." Scott laughed. "I hear you love to read."

"Yes, I do." Christine's cheeks flushed with embarrassment when she took her hand back. "I'll go put the ice cream in the freezer, I'll be right back."

With that, she walked into the kitchen and put the containers in the freezer before tossing the plastic bag into the trash bin. She could hear the family speak in hushed voices before silencing completely as she walked back in. She rose an eyebrow in suspicion before sitting down next to Charlie on the love seat opposite the red and gold one, than Laura and Neil sat on. On Charlie's lap was a brand new, wooden snowboard, probably a gift from his father for his upcoming trip to the mountains with his girlfriend's family.

"So, Christine, we were thinking that, instead of staying here, we'd visit Scott and Carol up in..." Neil oddly trailed off before Scott spoke up.

"Canada!" He cleared his voice. "I work up in Canada, and thought it'd be a nice idea to have everyone join me on the flight tomorrow." He gave Laura and Neil a sideways glance, as if in an accusatory fashion. Christine blinked with widened eyes, switching her gaze back and forth between Scott, Laura, and Neil.

"Are you kidding?" She asked in a squeaky voice, shocked.

"No way! It'll be fun, Chrissy!" Lucy exclaimed, hopping right in front of her. "Please? You should totally go with us!"

"I just," Christine trailed off for a moment. "I'm at a loss for words. It's shocking, to say the least." She glanced up at Scott again. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not." Scott waved it off. "I'm already planning on bringing Carol's parents up, what's one more person added to the party?" He smiled, causing Christine to smile back with a hearty nod.

"Ok, Lucy, I'll go with you guys."

Lucy said nothing as she presented a toothy grin and threw herself onto Christine, wrapping her arms around her neck. Christine laughed and wrapped her arms around the young girl's waist. Scott couldn't help but smile at the scene. Just like for his son and his wife, he would do anything to make Lucy happy. As well as the rest of the children in the world.

Christine just didn't know what she was getting herself into.

Not yet.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Christine had finished re-packing her purple suitcase so she could join the family on the trip to Canada. Exiting the made up guest bedroom and walking down the stairs, she placed her bag next to the front door and walked into the kitchen. Welcoming her was her aunt and uncle, Lucy, Charlie, Scott, and another mysterious gentleman. He was dark skinned, wearing a proper three piece suit with gold and brown tones on a coloured tie.<p>

"Christine, this is my associate, Sandy." Scott introduced her to the man. "He's the one that planned the flight and is to help escort everyone. To keep everything organized."

"Nice to meet you." She said, shaking his hand as he said the same to her. But something told Christine that something was off. She just assumed that it was something about how she didn't eat breakfast yet, so she ignored the feeling.

"We'll be setting off in a little while. So eat up, we'll go pick up the in-laws, and we'll be on our merry way." Scott clapped his hands together, as if trying to rush things.

"Ok, sure." Christine smiled, reaching into the cabinets to get a bowl and some Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Charlie, who was already finished eating, clapped her on the back as he walked past her.

"I'm off! I'll see you guys in a few days." Charlie said, walking up to his mom and giving her a hug. She kissed him on the cheek and pat his back before pulling away.

"Have fun, sweetie." She said as he moved onto his father, Scott.

Scott gathered him into a hug as well.

"Make sure you have a great time, sport." He said, ruffling his hair as if he was still a child. He laughed and scolded his father about that before waving to the group and walking away. Distantly, they could hear the front door open and close, as well as a car door before an engine revved and the vehicle drove off.

Shortly after that, Christine was finished eating, as well. She washed up the dishes she used, dried them with the towel before putting them away. She turned and smiled at the rest of the group.

"Whenever you're ready!"

"Poof!"

Sandy seemed to blow some kind of dust off of the palm of his hand into Christine's face. She was about to question what that was about until she suddenly had a dizzying feeling, before slowly closing her eyes and falling into the arms of her uncle. She was out cold within seconds, fast asleep. Soft snores could barely be heard coming from her as Neil and Laura looked up at Sandy, or more commonly known as Sandman.

"Was it really necessary to be so sudden?" Neil asked with a tilt of his head, holding his niece up.

"Sorry, but we really do need to get a move on." Scott stated with an apologetic smile. "And don't worry, she won't remember that part."

"I invented a dream that she'll be sleeping through, so it'll seem like she's having a nice flight out to Canada with the rest of you guys." Sandman defended himself. "So there's no need to worry. She'll wake up at the Pole."

* * *

><p>Christine opened her eyes, feeling like she just woke up from having a great nights sleep. But that wasn't possible, seeing as she was just arriving in Canada with her aunt and uncle, and sweet little Lucy, who let Christine read to her the whole flight. She was sitting upon a bench, that seemed a bit too small to fit two people, but it was too big for just herself. At her feet was her suitcase, the deep purple designs contrasting with the snowy ground. She was wearing her usual grey, faux-fur lined coat and a dark blue knit hat atop her head, covering most of her shoulder length, blonde hair. She wore no gloves or scarf, but wore a dark blue turtleneck sweater under her coat. Looking around, the town was just as small as the bench she sat on. Doorways seemed too short for someone of her height, and everything was very colourful. Reds and greens and blues covered the buildings, as well as the windows of various colours of stained glass. Needless to say, it was very vibrant, and very beautiful.<p>

It almost made her think of The Shire, just more colourful and above ground.

On the bench next to her sat who she assumed to be Carol's parents, the in-laws Scott was talking about. She never quite got their names, and she doesn't remember meeting them on the flight.

Christine wasn't concerned about it as she stood from the bench, smiling and looking around with wide, blue eyes in fascination. It seemed to her that her family didn't wait to rush off towards one particular building. And so, she went to follow them before being stopped by some children.

Or, who she would assume to be children.

"Welcome to Canada, eh?" They all chanted in front of Christine, as well as Carol's parents, who almost looked like they were waking up.

"That was an easy flight, we cruised right though customs." Scott stated from behind the small crowd with what looked to be a proud smile on his face.

"Oh, what a strange flight," muttered the man Christine thought to be Carol's father. He wore a flannel shirt and coat with a matching pattern hat, and thick green gloves. His wife had bright red hair, which made Christine think of Lucy's almost, and wore a tan coat with a vibrant red scarf, and light brown gloves which were hopefully made of faux-leather.

"It was like a dream," the woman spoke quietly while the children gathered around them, helping them up while a few just stood around Christine. She couldn't help but notice all the obvious Canadian clothes, like they were tourists, when this was actually Canada. Or supposed to be, but Christine didn't know that, and didn't concern herself with those details. "And such a nice meal." The woman smiled.

"They gave you a meal?" The man looked at her in disbelief. "I got four nuts in a pouch." He then glared lightly at Scott. "And you had us sit in coach."

"No, that was first class." The woman waved him off. "And I got a chance to sit next to Tony Bennett." She fluffed her hair proudly with her other hand on her hip.

That's funny, Christine didn't remember anything about that. Just the fact that she and Lucy sat together, and read _The Hobbit_ some more. Also having a couple of snacks. It was coach, but it wasn't terrible like anyone would assume. It was actually quite nice. A pleasant flight.

But why was hers so different from theirs, and theirs so different from each others?

"Mom! Dad!" A tall, blonde woman who was heavily pregnant (probably eight months along) rushed up with a gleeful smile. Her hair was curled and partially put up with the rest down, and she wore a light blue sweater that opened above her belly, but cascaded down in a trail behind her, and had a red and white striped scarf wrapped around her neck. This must've been Scott's wife, Carol. She embraced her parents as they gawked over her pregnant belly.

Christine took this time to look around, not to walk away, but just gaze with her eyes at the scenery.

It was really quite quaint. Almost like those towns that children go to in amusement parks, small buildings and warm colours alike. After they spent a few minutes reconnecting with each other, Scott made his way over to her.

"You're welcome to look around, you know." He said with a smile.

"Thank you." Christine nodded and smiled. "I think I'll just follow you guys, this is all so overwhelming, I don't know if I can handle it all myself." She laughed.

"You must be Christine!" Carol made her way over to Christine, surprising the young adult by embracing her in a warm hug.

"Oh!" Christine hesitated before chuckling, wrapping her arms around the woman before they parted. "Yes, I am."

"I'm Carol, Scott's wife." Christine was right in assuming who she was. "These are my parents, Bud and Sylvia Newman." She gestured towards the man and woman to her right.

"Nice to meet you." Christine extended her hand out to Bud, who slowly took it and they shook hands. She did the same with Sylvia, though she was less suspicious than Bud was. "I'm Christine Miller, I'm cousins with Scott's son, Charlie."

"Oh, so Scott's your uncle." Sylvia stated with a small smile.

"I guess you could say that." Christine smiled.

"Now, let's get this tour on the road, shall we?" Scott suggested.

* * *

><p>Christine walked along silently, not really paying attention to what anyone was saying, and more so paying attention to the buildings and decorations and people. It did raise a curious question in her mind, why were all the people so small, and children-like? Where there any taller people in this town other than Scott and Carol?<p>

Eventually, they made it inside this large building, and Christine couldn't help but marvel at all the toys, decorations, and knick knacks that people were carrying about in the hallway, bringing them from one room to the other. The walls inside this hall were no different than outside, tan with multi-coloured painted stones placed int the walls, and colourful glass windows, much like the ones she saw in the town.

"You take Christmas very seriously." Bud stated as they group walked along. There was one person, who was taller than most but not quite as tall as Scott and them, that was also tagging along. He had glasses, a puffy, light blue vest, and wore a knit hat on his head; and although he seemed to work along side Scott, he seemed younger than Christine. Scott had a clipboard in his hands that the man-boy?-handed him.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year." Scott replied to Bud, and Bud scoffed lightly.

"Oh, honey, just because you're not into Christmas doesn't mean others can't enjoy it." Sylvia stated.

"To be fair, I love this holiday, it's my favourite time of year." Christine spoke up for the first time in a while.

"Well, the kids are not gonna enjoy their toys this year," Bud accused, looking back at Scott. "This stuff should've been in stores weeks ago, you know."

"Oh, no worries," Scott waved a reassuring hand in the air. "We have a unique distribution system up here."

"Well, in order to distribute this stuff you're gonna have to freeze time." Bud stated jokingly.

"Trust me, sir," Scott's companion started. "Manipulating the space-time continuum for one night global delivery is the easy part."

Scott seemed to laugh nervously, but I don't see why he would be nervous. Scientists have, indeed, started to prove that time travel is possible, so maybe up here they are a little more advanced in that department. That, or he was just being sarcastic.

"Who are you?" Bud asked with narrowed eyes.

"Curtis." He said slowly, with a long pause. "Eh?" And there was another pause, as if waiting for a reaction. Finally, Scott spoke up to break the tension.

"Who's hungry?"

"I'm starved!" Christine suddenly exclaimed, all eyes on her. She then blushed and laughed lightly. "Sorry, I didn't eat much before we got here."

"Then let's get to the kitchen." Carol smiled, placing a hand on Christine's arm before they lead the way down the hall.


	3. Chapter 3

As the group walked into the kitchen, Christine's jaw dropped.

"Look at this kitchen!" Sylvia exclaimed excitedly.

"Look at the size of that oven." Even Bud was impressed. "You could cook a wooly mammoth in there."

Indeed, the oven was large, but maybe that was exaggerating it a bit. Still, Christine was in heaven. She loved to cook, and this oven was massive, she could bake so many cakes at once if she could! There were people scattered throughout the room, bustling about, bringing some treats to one section of the room and some to another, to assemble or to decorate.

"Incredible!" Christine grinned with an airy laugh.

"Let's have something to eat." Scott suggested, walking down the steps onto the kitchen floor, walking past these light red and green coloured pillars that spiraled from the ceiling to the dark, marble floor.

"You've got quite the operation here, you've been holding out on us." Bud stated as everyone followed him. "Why the secrecy?"

"Secrets? There's no secrets. I don't have secrets. Why would I have secrets? We're family, there's no secrets." Scott rambled quickly, in an oddly high voice.

"Heavens sakes, you must be the in-laws!"

A man approached the group. He was tall, with blueish-white hair that was spiked back, as if frozen. He wore a dark blue, velvet, pinstripe, three piece suit that looked as if the edges were lightly frosted over, and had what looked to be an icicle for a tie. He had very pale skin that could almost blend in with the snow outside, if it weren't for a slight redness in his face, and had piercing blue eyes.

"So very pleased to meet you." He took Sylvia's hand before bringing her knuckles to his face, lightly kissing her knuckles like a gentleman. He then had a wide smile, looking at everyone before taking Christine's bare hand as well, doing the same action he did with Sylvia. His hands were as cold as ice, and the kiss he placed on Christine's knuckle almost sent a painful chill up her arm. "Hi."

"Uh, Bud, Sylvia, Christine, this is-"

"Jack Frost." The man went to reach for Bud's hand to shake before Scott interrupted.

"No! Not Jack Frost." He laughed. "He's playing Jack Frost in our 'Yippee, it's Canada!' parade." The man, Jack, gave an almost confused look to Scott for a moment before smiling in realization.

"Oh, yes, of course!" He said with his toothy grin. "To bring frosty cheer to the workers." Jack said with a flourish of his arm. "I'm kind of like the team mascot, eh? Rah rah!" He chuckled lightly. There was a small moment of silence before Bud spoke.

"Who does your hair?"

"You like it?" Jack seemed happy. "It's...I freeze-dry it." He stammered. If it weren't for how real it looked, Christine was assuming it was a wig but she knew better. He must've had quite the hairstylist.

"Sir, can I borrow you for a moment?" Curtis walked into the room, directly looking at Scott with a look that spoke 'urgency'.

"Uh," Scott took a moment to think. "Yeah. Excuse me just a minute." He made his way over to Curtis as they seemed to violently whisper to each other. Was something wrong? "We have a small paperwork problem." Scott said to the family with a sheepish grin.

"You go right ahead!" Jack offered. "I'll make sure everyone's as happy as a lark." Scott took this time to start following Curtis out of the room, shooting Jack a thankful look. "For that's why I'm here, eh?" Jack then turned back towards the newcomers before asking, "Cocoacchinos, anyone?"

Christine tilted her head in confusion, furrowing her eyebrows. Giving a small shrug, she walked over to sit down at the granite table in the middle of the room, slipping off her coat and hat, placing the hat in her coat pocket before draping it over the back of the chair. As she sat down, she looked around the room in wonder, once more. After a few moments, her hunger pulled her away from her distraction and she waved over one of the workers.

"Excuse me, could I get something to eat?" She asked the small person in the apron and chefs hat that approached her with a gingerbread house in hand. She was short, like everyone else here it seemed, and had brown eyes and red hair, with some freckles on her cheeks that, if Christine didn't know any better, seemed to sparkle.

"Sure, I'll get right on it. What would you like, miss...?"

"Oh, call me Christine. And just a sandwich would be fine. Turkey and cheese, if it isn't too much trouble." Christine smiled lightly. She almost felt guilty because of how child-like this person was.

"Right away." She smiled back, blinking her deep brown eyes and walking away.

Christine then realized something. She forgot to ask for something to drink, too. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, as if some tin cans have been knocked over. She was about to get up to look at what that was until a voice spoke.

"Cocoacchinos, anyone?"

Christine looked up and saw Jack, who seemed to forego his jacket and now wore a small apron that had a snowman design on it. Sylvia, who also took her coat off and placed it on the seat directly across the table from Christine, also looked and notice him walking over. In his hands was a small, silver tray that carried three small mugs that made Christine think about a child's tea party set. He had a big grin when Sylvia agreed to having the drink. Christine only nodded with a light smile. Jack placed down the tray and pulled out Sylvia's chair for her to sit, to which she obliged. Christine hadn't even noticed the small plates of cookies on the table in front of them.

Once he sat down next to her, he offered her and Christine the small cups.

"Is this like a mocha cappuccino?" Christine asked curiously, wondering about the mixture of hot chocolate and espresso.

"I hope you like it." Jack said, watching her take a sniff of the aroma coming from the warm drink. "It's my own recipe."

The three took a sip of their own drink, Christine couldn't help but moan lightly in at the delicious taste that lasted on her tongue.

"Mmm. Minty." Sylvia praised with a smile.

"Doesn't it make you feel fresh?" Jack asked excitedly, to which the both of them agreed with delighted laughter.

"Normally, I'm not one to like chocolate and mint, but what you just concocted, Jack," Christine paused to put down her cup and clap her hands a few times. "Bravo!"

"Thank you, thank you." He grinned, bowing his head to her, to which she nodded back before taking another sip of her drink. He then turned to Sylvia. "Oh, my, I just...I love your hair." He complimented her.

"You do?" She asked in shock, and he nodded in reply. "I love yours."

"Really?" He almost laughed, not expecting that.

"I've never seen anything like that." Sylvia said, looking at his hair again.

"And you said you 'freeze-dry' it? You have got to give me the name of your stylist." Christine gushed. His hair looked like fresh ice, so whoever did his hair was incredible.

"Oh, you're so adorable." Jack said, looking between both Sylvia and Christine. "You divine little kittens, you." He made a small growl, which made Sylvia chuckle and Christine almost spat out her drink giving an incredulous laugh. "And I bet you sing, too." He said before taking another sip of his cocoacchino.

"No, no, no," Sylvia shook her head in denial.

"Oh, go on. I bet you can sing." Jack insisted.

"Mmm, maybe a little bit." Sylvia smiled nervously, pinching her fingers a bit.

"I knew it, I knew it." Jack chuckled. "What about you, Christine? You've got to have the voice of an angel."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Christine trailed off. She did think she sang well, but not that well. It was just part of the extracurriculars at school. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment when he kept looking at her with a smile, as if begging her to sing, so she turned her gaze to her drink and took a sip, all the while smiling nervously.

"Sing something." Jack insisted, turning to Sylvia since Christine didn't look up again.

"What would you like to hear?" Sylvia quietly asked.

"How about," Jack trailed off to think before he sang in his own deep, musical voice. "_Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..._" He waited for someone to continue, which Sylvia did in her airy voice.

"_Jack Frost nipping at your nose._" Jack seemed to shiver and smile at that as she continued the lyrics. "_Yuletide carols being sung-_"

"No, no, go back to the other line," Jack interrupted with a grin. "The part before..."

"_Jack Frost nipping at your nose._" Sylvia laughed as Jack sighed.

"Gives me chills."

"_Jack Frost nipping at your nose._" Sylvia sang once again with a flourishing of new notes before giggling.

"Oh, what a lyric." Jack whispered, impressed. Christine couldn't help but giggle and shake her head. It was almost as if he actually was, indeed, Jack Frost and wanted to be more well known. Which how could he not be known? In the stories, he makes the cold weather, the snow, the ice, the frost. Which was the main reason Christine loved this time of year, the cold was welcoming to her.

"What's going on over here?" Carol walked over with a smile, noticing the laughter.

"Your mother is fabulous!" Jack exclaimed as everyone joined in the laughter. Sylvia playfully pinched his nose before picking up her cup again. "Would you like to be my elf?" Jack then suddenly asked, causing the laughter between Sylvia and Christine to stop short.

"Huh?"

"You heard me." Jack said, ignoring the confusion.

Before anyone could reply, to which Christine was just only going to ask what he meant, a fire burst through one of the ovens and a siren to go off. A flurry of motion went through the room as people scattered, backing away from the flames. Christine gasped and stood up, quickly making her way over to shield anyone nearby from the fire. Bud rushed through the kitchen with some sort of strange pack on his back and an apparatus attached to it in his hand.

"Heads up! Coming through!" He ran over, pointing the apparatus at the fire and pulling some sort of trigger, which sent a strange, pale green goo out of the pack and into the flames. Some sort of fire extinguisher, perhaps? "Back off! Back off!" He was trying to wave people away. "We got a dangerous situation, back off!" He then covered his mouth and nose with his hand. "Don't breath. Don't breath in." Once the flames finally died down, he turned towards the crowd that gathered. "What's wrong with you people? We were an inch away from Armageddon!"

"I'll get a mop!" Jack went to put down his drink and rush to the broom closet.

"I'll go help." Christine quietly said, slowly following Jack in the direction he was going. As she chased after him into the factory, she froze in place.

All around her were the small people, who she would think is children, all of which had pointed ears and sparkles on their faces. Pointed shoes, colours of red and green, working on toys and what-not. A large, globe-like statue sat in the very middle of the room before two sets of stairs. She could only guess this to be one place after putting two and two together.


	4. Chapter 4

"We're not in Canada, are we?" She hesitantly asked Jack in a stammering voice, catching up with him. Her eyes were as wide as can be, given the circumstances, and her voice was at a high pitch due to shock and realization.

"Finally guess it, have you?" Jack laughed lightly, rushing up the stairs. "We're in the North Pole, and 'Scott' is actually dear old Santa Claus." He said in an almost resentful tone, which Christine picked up on. "I probably shouldn't have been the one to tell you, but your family has been lying to you." He pushed open a stained glass door where some vending machines were, and a broom closet. Opening the closet, he took out a very small mop.

"They," Christine paused for a moment, blinking and shaking her head. "Lied to me?" She then looked around the room with sad eyes. "We're in the North Pole? This is Santa's Workshop? So," she trailed off, turning back to Jack. "They are all elves. Real elves?" Jack nodded. "And you are really, truly, Jack Frost? The bringer of Winter and all that is cold?" He grinned and nodded at that.

"Yeah." He laughed and winked. "Cool, isn't it?" Pun intended.

"Wow." Christine breathed out, looking into the workshop, but then furrowed her brows together in confusion and disappointment. "But, why would Uncle Neil and Aunt Laura lie to me? Did they know all along?"

"To be fair, it seems it isn't their secret to give out." Jack said nonchalantly with a shrug. "And Mrs. Claus' parents don't know, either. Something called an S.O.S. or whatever."

"S.O.S?" Christine tilted her head, following Jack back down the stairs and into the kitchen, just as Scott seemed to have returned on his own. Also gathered there were Neil, Laura, and Lucy. Christine couldn't help but gaze at them with sad eyes.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what happened?"

"Nothing!" Jack jogged up behind him. "Except you didn't tell your in-laws that your ex-wife is spending Christmas with you."

"More secrets." Bud nodded as Sylvia gave Scott an accusatory look.

"Secrets, indeed." Christine couldn't help but give her aunt and uncle a sideways glance before stepping up next to Jack.

Suddenly, Christine jumped at the hissing noise behind her as the espresso machine that Jack seemed to have used earlier started spitting out parts and coffee/cocoa beans. Elves started screaming and running away from it in surprise.

"Nothing works in this joint!" Bud exclaimed over the sound of the machine.

"If you think this is something, you should see the delivery room!" Jack then suggested, to which Scott gave him a small glare. Jack just smiled up at him sheepishly.

"Is there a problem?" Bud asked before turning to Scott. "I want to see the delivery room!" Sylvia then gave a disbelieving look.

"What?!"

* * *

><p>As the elves started to clean and fix up the kitchen, Scott, Carol, and her parents went out to check out the infirmary. Or is it elfirmary, since Christine just found out that all the stories about this place were true.<p>

So there she was, sitting at the table, the sandwich she asked for sitting right in front of her, untouched as she was suddenly not hungry, while her aunt and uncle sat across from her and tried to explain everything as best as they could.

"You know why we couldn't tell you, right?" Laura asked, reaching over and taking Christine's hand in hers, to which Christine tugged her hand away and placed it on her lap.

"Yes. I," she paused. "I understand. It's Scott's responsibility, and it's meant to be kept secret." She then looked up at them. "But if you wanted me to come along, why didn't you tell me the truth? Or at least suggested that Scott would tell me? He would have allowed me to know, right?"

"We didn't know how to bring it up." Neil said in a soft tone, in his psychiatrist voice. "When Scott started to become Santa Claus twelve years ago, neither of us believed it, because we only knew this as stories growing up. And you know how parents eventually tell their children that Santa isn't real. The only one that truly believed, because they were there with Scott, was Charlie."

"So, Charlie knew, too?" Christine even felt more terrible before scoffing. "Of course he knew, he's Scott's son."

"Please don't be mad at us, sweetie." Laura tried to console Christine.

"I, for one, wouldn't blame her for being mad."

Christine looked up to see Jack Frost standing beside her chair, arms crossed. He had took off the apron he was wearing earlier, but still wasn't wearing his jacket.

"In fact, I'd be pretty upset, myself, if I were in this kind of situation."

"It's kind of difficult to explain magic is real to an adult, Jack. It took us months to get through it." Laura said, defending herself. "Lucy wasn't told until she was six."

"But he's right." Christine said, looking back at her aunt and uncle. "It may have seemed difficult, but do you know what I read? All sorts of books about magic. Legends and myths, and you think that I, of all people, wouldn't have believed you? Wouldn't have believed that Santa Claus truly exists?" She took a deep breath before standing up and draping her coat over her left arm. "I just need a while." Her voice was surprisingly dull as she turned to walk away, leaving her family and her uneaten sandwich behind.

* * *

><p>Some kind elves were able to direct her to the room where her suitcase was brought to, so even though she never made it to that part of the tour, she eventually found the room she'd be staying in.<p>

Normally, she would marvel at the amazing architecture, the brick coloured walls and the stained glass windows. But she was so upset at the moment she could think of nothing but to sit on her bed, covered in emerald green sheets, and thought about today.

So much has happened that she needed the time to dwell over it.

Hopefully, not for too long, tomorrow was Christmas Day.

Quickly, she took out some fresh clothes to wear and changed. Now, she wore a black, tube skirt that hugged her hips and charcoal coloured leggings, which had a fleece lining in them to keep her legs warm. On her feet were some tan boots that had a two inch heel on them. She wore a dark green and dark blue stripped shirt that had a v-neck collar. Sitting at her place on the bed again, she went back to thinking about her family. And what they did. Or what they didn't do.

"_Dreaming of the stars on high that speak to me in secret sighs, drifting on a breeze only I can feel and hear._" The words escaped Christine's throat without a second thought. Whenever she was distressed, she'd always sing the same song. "_Could it be the sacred wind? It's calling me to now begin. To walk into the dark, carrying the light of tomorrow._" She stopped a moment, taking a deep breath and shaking her head. She ran her slim fingers through her straight, blonde hair.

"I knew you had an angelic voice."

Christine jumped with a start, looking up with wide eyes. She hadn't even heard her door open, let alone Jack Frost walking into the doorway. Hesitantly, Christine smiled lightly with furrowed eyebrows, her cheeks flushed pink as she looked away from him.

"Oh, there's no need to be embarrassed." Jack insisted, walking towards her, sitting next to her on the bed. "Your voice could rival that of any Broadway star."

"Really?" Christine glanced up at him before staring at her feet with a frown. "Thanks, Jack, but I don't feel like compliments, right now."

"Now, now, is this because of the fact that your family lied to you?" He placed a hand on her back, causing a chill to run up and down her spine. "That they betrayed your trust?" She closed her eyes as he said those words, a strange coldness came over her, her heart seemed to clench in her chest painfully.

"I've already had trust issues. Because of my parents." Christine explained softly. "My mother didn't trust my father, and my father didn't trust my mother or my siblings. When my parents had a divorce, my father took me with him, my mother had my older, twin sisters. They always lied to me. I resented them. Uncle Neil knew that. Which was why I was spending Christmas with them this year. He and Aunt Laura were the only people I could trust." She shook her head again, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes. "I know, that there are reasons, real reasons why I wasn't told. But it feels like they didn't trust me. Like, I was supposed to not know the entire time here. And after." She held the tears back, suddenly glaring at the wall. "Out of everyone, I can keep a secret. There is no way I would give out information of this place without being allowed to. And from what I understand, Scott would have allowed them to tell me. But they chose not to. I commend them for keeping the secret safe, but I'm upset that they didn't feel like I could keep it secret, either."

"I completely understand." Jack said in a strangely soft voice, causing her to look up at him. "I know exactly how it feels to be betrayed. Untrusted."

"You do?" She blinked her eyes before looking at her feet again, leaning her shoulder against his. "Thanks, Jack. I appreciate you listening to me."

"Any time." He chuckled lightly, rubbing his hand against her back. "Now, how would you like to be one of my elves?"

"Excuse me?" Christine looked up and blinked again, giving him an incredulous look of confusion.

"Just, someone to help me out. I've got a plan to set things right up here, in the Pole. A plan to make everyone understand how we feel." He stared into her eyes. "So, would you help me?"

Christine thought about it for a moment. She wasn't one to do things behind anyones back, especially bad things. But something inside of her told her that she should. She should help Jack and give her family what's coming to them.

"Ok." Christine gave him a determined look filled with trust. "I'll help you."


	5. Chapter 5

Christine walked along the halls, humming a song while looking around. After speaking with Jack, she felt immensely better. Except for the fact that she was still mad at her aunt and uncle. Even her cousins. But she was filled with a cool sense of comfort, which she had no idea where that came from.

"Oh, Christine, there you are." Carol spotted the girl outside of the room she was in. "I was wondering if you would help join us for the decorating of the tree. Every year we have a toast while Scott puts on the tree topper." She gave Christine an earnest smile, to which Christine returned.

"Of course, Carol. I'd love to help out." She half expected to see her aunt and uncle there with Lucy, but when she walked inside, she was disappointed. "Where's Uncle Neil and Aunt Laura?" She then asked. Christine was really hoping to give them a little piece of her mind, as she was still upset about everything that has happened.

"They went out to find Lucy and get ready for dinner." Sylvia stated, going through some ornaments and placing them on the tree.

"They should be back soon." Carol smiled at Christine before handing her a couple of ornaments, both looked like snowflakes and glittered in the light. "Could you put those on near the top?"

"Sure." Christine nodded and walked up the steps next to the tree and placing them in their designated places. She was so warm to Carol and her family because of the fact that her parents also didn't know that they were in the North Pole. As long as Carol knew, neither did Christine. So far, the only people that knew that she found out were Jack, because he practically told her, and her aunt and uncle. Perhaps Lucy knew at this point, but she hasn't seen the girl since they first arrived. And in the kitchen for a minute, but the child disappeared after that so quickly while Christine talked to Neil and Laura. So, she didn't hold the lack of information against Carol. The only people who were to blame were Neil, Laura, and Scott.

Or so Jack had made Christine believe. Oddly enough, she trusted the Winter Sprite.

* * *

><p>A little bit later, Scott was talking on his cellphone to Curtis, while Christine, Bud, and Sylvia finished decorating. Carol was waiting for Scott, trying to get his attention while holding the crystal tree topper that looked like a star. Christine was putting some touch ups on the tree, making sure that none of the ornaments were sitting there askew.<p>

Bud stood on a ladder, hanging up some garland on the archways of the room when suddenly the ladder started rolling to the right, away from what he was working on.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm rolling downhill." Bud stated just as Jack jogged into the room and pushed the ladder back in place. "This is not up to code, this building."

Christine smiled lightly upon seeing Jack, noticing he wore his jacket again. He smiled back at her and looked at the tree before turning to Carol.

"Why haven't you put the tree topper on the tree, yet?"

"Oh, Scott's just been a little busy." Carol said with a distant look in her eyes.

"Tell your dad to do it." Jack suggested to her in a low whisper. "And then watch the suddenly displaced Mr. Claus run right over." He chuckled. "Huh? Go ahead, it'll be fun."

Christine doesn't know why, but she suddenly had a very cold chill run through her body and she shivered. It wasn't unpleasant, but the feeling was unknown to her. She didn't know what was going to happen, but anticipated it.

"Hey, dad!" Carol called over her shoulder to her father. "Do you want to help me with the tree topper?"

"Yeah, in a minute." Bud replied.

Carol and Jack looked back at Scott, waiting to see if he noticed. Christine also looked at him over her shoulder. When she saw Scott still working, slaving over what she could assume to be the list that Santa is supposed to check every year, she shook her head in disappointment.

"I don't know who he is, anymore." Jack said with a shake of his head before walking towards the tree when Christine walked away from it.

"I don't know who he is anymore, either." Bud said.

Christine walked over to the bowl of apple cider and picked up one of the crystal glasses, a seasonal favourite.

"Neil, Lucy, and Laura should be here for this." Sylvia stated, walking up next to her daughter. Christine frowned as she picked up another glass before turning towards them.

"They left a while ago. I wonder where they are." Carol spoke softly, glancing at Christine, surprised to see that the younger girl held an indifferent expression in her eyes about her missing family. She doesn't know why, but Christine could honestly care less if they were there with them. What has gotten into her?

"Oh, some of the Canadians invited them over for cocoa." Jack spoke up, looking between them. "You know how they are, Yak-yak, yak-yak, eh?" He laughed before looking at the bearded man in the room. "Scott? Tree topper, what do you say?"

"Hey, Scott, honey!" Carol tried to get his attention again. "Um, let's put the tree topper on. We can make a toast."

"Hey, hey!" The ladder that Bud stood on started rolling again. "You built this place on a fault line." Bud quickly made his way off the ladder before it could roll any further.

"...millions of kids in Australia will go without gifts," Scott muttered to himself while looking at his phone before smiling at everyone as he walked over. "But what can I do for you guys?"

"Tree topper." Carol spoke lightly, holding up the crystal decoration as Christine handed Jack the extra glass she held in her hands.

"Oh, yeah," Scott spoke with realization, taking the tree topper from Carol, while she passed out the last of the glasses before holding the two left for herself and Scott. "Tree topper. Good."

"Scott, toast!" Carol was interrupted by Scott's ringtone on his phone, which sang _We Wish You a Merry Christmas_ in a high pitch and speed up.

"Just a second." Scott said, answering the phone. Christine couldn't help but roll her eyes at that, shaking her head as he spoke to Curtis on the other line.

"You would think that for going through all the trouble to get the family up here, he would actually spend a little more than two seconds with them." She muttered to Jack, to which Carol and her parents had also heard. Jack couldn't help but inwardly smirk at that.

"Hey, Curtis, I can't talk right now." Scott said to the phone. "I'm putting the tree topper on the tree. It's very important. Can't talk." He started leaning to the side, trying to get the relentless Curtis off the other line. "Curtis, please, please, please, I gotta go. Bye!" Finally, he pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up on Curtis. Just after the beep, his phone started ringing again. From the disapproving glances that everyone gave him, he silenced his phone and tucked it in his pocket. "Gonna put it in my pocket. I'm not answering that." Carol grinned and giggled. "I'm putting the phone in my pocket! Put it in my pocket. All done." He took the spare glass from Carol before making his way up the steps next to the tree. "Ok, everybody, as I climb up this beautiful tree, I know we've had our ups and downs."

"That's saying it lightly..." Christine whispered to herself with another roll of her eyes.

"But as I place this tree topper in the traditional place," Scott securely put the star on the top most branch of the tree. "I just want to say-"

He never got to finish speaking at everyone screamed, watching the large tree topple to the left, the ornaments smashing as it made contact with the wooden floor.

Christine's eyes were wide, jaw slack. She held a hand over her chest in shock while Jack has his arm around her shoulders from when he pulled her out of the way of the tree.

Slowly, with a hand over her mouth, Carol carefully made her way towards the tree. Kneeling down, she picked up the tree topper, various pieces of crystal falling off of the silver base. With a defeated look on her face, tears welled up in her eyes before carefully standing back up. She was trying to hold back sobs, but couldn't stop her chin from quivering as Scott tried to comfort her.

"I know you're upset."

"You picked up on that, did you?" Bud said smartly.

"Bud," Scott sighed, turning to his father-in-law. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Seeing what is about to take place, Christine's eyebrows raised and she took a tentative sip of her drink. If only she had popcorn.

"Well, maybe if you weren't working all the time, you might know." Bud shot.

"Well, maybe you don't understand the pressure that I'm under." Scott fired back.

"Well, maybe it's not as bad as being ripped away from your family and told you can't see them anymore." Oo, that one hit home as Carol desperately called out to her father, trying to stop the fighting.

"Well, maybe that's why I invited you out here, Bud!" Scott continued. "So Carol can be surrounded by family for love and support, while I try to do things you can't even imagine. But rather than try to make things work, it seems like you're trying to make things worse!"

"That's it." Bud put down his glass angrily. "We're leaving." Christine gasped at that.

"What?" Carol cried out, sadly watching the scene unfold.

"Maybe we shouldn't have come." Sylvia said.

"Maybe you're right." Scott said with a wave of his arm, causing Carol to give him a disbelieving look. "Maybe you shouldn't have come."

"Maybe I should never have come, either." Carol then said.

Scott sighed, defeated, going to speak before Jack rushed up to him.

"Don't say anything you'll regret." He spoke quickly, stopping Scott before he even said a word. Jack slowly looked around the room. "I think we all need to cool down for a second." Carol went and sat down next to the fireplace, slumped over and looking at the destroyed star in her hands. "Why don't you and I take a walk? And Christine can take care of what's going on here. Come on." While Scott tried to protest, Jack insisted by lightly tugging on Scotts arm, to try to guide him out of the room.

Eventually, the two of them made their way into the hallway. Christine watched as Jack glanced back at her, a devious look in his eyes, before they disappeared around the corner. Sylvia and Bud made their way over to their daughter, trying to console her. And Christine didn't know what to do. To be honest, they brought this upon themselves. It scared her that she was so careless about the situation.

What's wrong with her?


	6. Chapter 6

With a blink of her eyes, Christine stared at her reflection in the full length mirror in her bedroom. Long, blonde hair that was braided over her right shoulder, any stray hairs were carefully pinned off to the side. Her eyes were a dull blue, void of any and all emotions as they looked over her appearance. She wore a white blouse with a high collar and cap sleeves on her shoulders. A navy blue, flared skirt started at the dark brown belt around her waist, and ended just past her knees. On her feet were three inch, stiletto heels, that glittered like diamonds. Looking just like Dorothy Gale's shoes in the original _Wizard of Oz_ story. Around her neck, Christine wore a necklace, with a silver chain and a pale blue teardrop charm.

Hesitantly, Christine placed her left hand on her stomach, feeling nervous as the sapphire gems on her ring finger sparkled in the reflection of the mirror. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. Normally, she's perfectly fine, rarely ever nervous. But right at this moment, she was scared beyond belief.

"Miss Christine?" A voice called from behind the door after a couple swift knocks. "They're here."

"I'll be right out, Vivi. Thanks." Christine called back, taking one last glance at herself in the mirror before walking towards the door.

It's time to face her demons.

Christine walked down the hallway and into the main room. Crowds stood in every corner of the room, there was almost not enough room to walk. This is what she didn't really like here, that there were too many people. Not that she didn't like interacting with anyone, most of the people were nice. She just didn't like to deal with the spoiled, difficult ones. Especially the stubborn children.

But that was the price to pay for living at the North Pole Resort.

"Chrissy!"

Christine smiled lightly at the voice and turned around, spotting Lucy running towards her. Christine grunted slightly as Lucy's body made contact with hers, both wrapping their arms around each other. Looking up from the child, she saw her Neil, her uncle. And walking next to his was his brother, her father. Joseph Miller.

All colour drained from Christine's face. She was aware that her father was going to show up, she just wasn't fond of talking to him. She avoided all of his calls as much as possible. But she put this off for too long and knew she had to talk to him.

He was tall, just an inch taller than Neil, and he was older than Neil by two years. He had sandy blond hair that was starting to turn grey. His eyes were a slate grey hidden behind a pair of wire framed glasses. Once upon a time, his eyes were a vibrant blue that made Christine think of the ocean. But once he divorced her mother, Stephanie Hoover, he changed drastically. He was wearing a suit with no tie, and a black, wool coat. He forced a smile as he saw his daughter, and how different she looked since he last saw her.

"Hey, Lucy. Uncle Neil." She glanced at her father. "Hello, dad."

"I'm glad to see you, Christine." Joseph said in a hoarse voice.

"We missed you!" Lucy grinned, looking up at Christine before letting her waist go.

"I missed you too, Luce." Christine smiled. "Why don't you go and look around? I'll talk to you guys later."

"Sure." Neil nodded before placing a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Come on, honey, let's go to the Petting Zoo."

Once the two of them were off, Christine's smile softened as she stared into her father's eyes. He smiled sadly at her as they awkwardly wrapped their arms around each other.

"How long has it been? Three years? Four?" He said, patting her back.

"Roughly." She chuckled softly, letting him go and backing away. "How have you been, dad?"

"Same old." He gave a small shrug once she started guiding him through the crowds of people, trying to find somewhere to talk. "The people at work miss hearing from you. Especially Nora."

At the mention of the nurse that works with him at the hospital that babysat, Christine smiled. She was a sweet woman, about the same age as her father, maybe a couple years older. Christine never found out her exact age, often joking around about being 34 even though she obviously wasn't since Christine was 29. But she took care of Christine while she was struggling through her parents divorce, often going out to the library to read to each other. She's the reason Christine favours The Hobbit so much, it was the first story Nora read to her and gave her comfort.

"I'm going to have to contact her soon. Her birthday is in a few weeks, isn't it?" Christine asked.

"Yes." Her father nodded. The two entered a quiet room off to the side of the main room. Inside was a small library, and a deep green coloured couch to sit on, an oak coffee table in front of it. It didn't take him more than seconds to realize that this was her safe haven, the place where she spent most of her time up here in the North. "I've oddly relieved a call from your mother, as well. She was calling for you. I had to tell her you were on a road trip with your friends. She seemed upset and asked me to tell you to call her if you got the chance. But she didn't say why."

Christine's smile faded to a frown as she furrowed her eyebrows. She hasn't spoken to her mother, or her younger sisters, in about 7 years. Why now, of all times, would her mother want to talk to her? She sat on the left side of the couch, her father on the right. In the center of the coffee table was a crystal bowl of peppermint candies, and she watched as her father reached for one.

"Do you think I should?" She asked, watching him place the candy in his mouth. "Call her?"

"Honestly, I would prefer you didn't." He said, leaning back into the cushions. "But that's just because of how we fell apart. It's your choice, Christine."

Christine blinked her eyes and looked at her hands, resting them on her lap.

"I also wanted to know why you haven't been answering my calls." He then asked. "And you never called me back from when I left messages."

"Sorry, dad. It's just been so busy up here." Christine lied through her teeth. She didn't even need to lift a finger to do anything in the North Pole, everyone else did the work for her. However, her father didn't know that. "I've never had a chance."

He didn't say anything after that, and the two sat in silence for a few moments. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, causing Christine to sit up straight before standing.

"I'll be right back." She said to her father before making her way to the door. Opening it, she saw one of the elves, dressed in their "North Pole Resort" t-shirt and hat, looking up at her with deep brown eyes. "Yes, Vivi?"

"Mr. Claus wants to see you." She said before giving a nod and leaving.

"I've got to go." She turned back into the room, seeing her father stand up from the couch. "Go, enjoy yourself. I'll talk to you before you leave."

"Ok." He said before giving her a short hug. "It's great seeing you."

"Great seeing you, too." She said, watching him walk back into the main room, disappearing within the crowd. After that, she went in the other direction, knowing exactly where she needed to go. Walking up the steps, she made it to a pair of double doors. Slowly, Christine twisted the door knob and made her way into the room. Immediately, she was greeted by Mr. Claus, originally Jack Frost, her husband for the past four years. All ready for his performance for everyone here, wearing his traditional red suit lined in white. "You wanted to see me?"

"Of course, my dear Mrs. Claus." He spoke brightly, making his way over to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her cheek, a shiver running down her spine as his beard tickled her cheek. "It's almost showtime and I wanted my beloved to wish me a good show." He said in a condescending tone, eying her carefully, smiling when she gave him a tight smile.

"Break a leg, darling." She said, her voice obviously forced to be cheerful. He grinned and gave her another kiss on the cheek.

"Wonderful." He then placed a hand on her stomach, lingering there for a second before walking towards the door. Jack opened the door for her. "I do hope you enjoy the show as much as the crowd does."

"I always do." She said with a nod before walking out of the room. Christine took a deep breath before walking down the hall, placing another nervous hand on her stomach like earlier.

Why did she have a feeling it would be a long night?

Standing off to the side of the stage, she listened to the male elf play some piano tunes. Currently, he was playing _Up on the Housetop_, which was one of the songs that is usually played before Jack's performance. Honestly, he really needed a better line up, because singing a North Pole version of the Liza Minnelli classic _New York, New York_ was getting very stale. But the crowd loved it, and so did Jack, so she stayed silent. It also didn't help that Jack was good at manipulation. What was she to do when he could always change her mind so easily?

Christine looked around at the crowd, quickly spotting some familiar faces. She waved at Joseph and Neil, who stood next to each other, who waved back before bringing their attention to the show. Suddenly, a man stood up from the middle of the crowd.

"Boy, this show stinks." He announced and suddenly two guards started chasing them.

"Ma'am, do you want to leave?" Another guard that stood next to her asked, noticing the scene before turning to her.

"No. I'm sure it's nothing." She shook her head. "Thank you, though."

He gave a curt nod before joining to help the other guards find the man. It was then that the pianist started playing the tune for _New York, New York_, or rather _North Pole, North Pole_. The crowd cheered as Jack, Santa Claus, turned around from the top of the stairs and started singing.

"_Start spreading the news by jet or by sleigh. You ought to be a part of it. North Pole, North Pole. You snooze and you lose, so come here to play. Here at the very heart of it. North Pole, North Pole._" There were some tap dancing elves on the stairs as he started to dance his way down to the stage. "_Come see the snowman up where no man's without a treat. And watch this king of the chill, Ha! Turn up the heat._"

Christine gave a heavy sigh. It really was getting stale, after many years of the same song being sung. Same choreography. Same everything. But still, she watched on like everyone else. She would give anything for this to be different. Not just the show, but her life. Jack was great when he could be, but she would prefer things to be much better than they are now. The only redeeming quality was the child. She smiled softly, rubbing a hand over her stomach softly.

The show ended with a bang. Almost literally, as the man who had his outburst earlier swung down on a rope, crashing his feet into Jack's side. The crowd cried out and Christine only gasped, watching on, a hand up to her mouth in shock.

"I'm gonna kick the coal out of whoever did that!" Jack exclaimed, climbing out of a pile of presents that he knocked over from the fall. Everyone started laughing and cheering once he stood up and looked at the man. "You!"

"You're not Santa Claus." The strange man said, turning to the crowd. "That is an imposter. I'm Santa Claus!"

Christine joined in with everyone's laughter. Him? Santa Claus? Now, everyone else might have not known about the rules of the _Santa Clause_, but Jack told her all about it. Including the _Misses Clause_, which was why she was there. It was absurd that this man would claim himself to be Santa Claus.

Jack called for the guards to capture the man, which they were obviously trying to do from the start. The man fought back, pulling off a prop candy cane from the prop gingerbread house on stage. He wacked Jack and the guards a few times with it, which caused a chuckle to escape Christine's throat. She placed a hand over her mouth, almost feeling guilty at finding this hilarious. Eventually, the man climbed on top of the gingerbread house, trying to get out of reach.

"Hey, where are you going? Get down from there!" Jack demanded.

"Guess if you guys want me, you're gonna have to come up here and get me." The man said immediately before the roof of the house collapsed under his weight. He fell down the roughly five foot house, causing an uproar of laughter from Jack as well as the audience.

Everyone was clapping at the scene, as if it were staged. Christine knew better that it wasn't. Jack would never let anyone try to humiliate him like that.

Quickly, the guards grabbed the man by the arms and pulled him out of the debris. Jack slowly made his way in front of him, speaking quietly while doing so. Christine was still close enough to the stage to hear what he was saying.

"Get this through your head." He started. "You're not Santa anymore." Christine blinked a few times in confusion. What was he talking about. "You're just a guy who smells like a cookie."

On the stairs behind Jack stood Lucy, causing Christine to look at her with wide eyes. What was she doing? She could get in trouble.

"Hey, how about a game of catch?" The man asked Jack before looking at Lucy. "Lucy, toss it!"

Jack spun around just as Lucy tossed up a round snowglobe. It was almost as if things moved in slow motion as it flew through the air. Christine would have had a heart attack if it crashed to the floor since she recognized what it was, but sighed with relief as Jack caught it in his hands.

"Oo, nice try, compadre." Jack said with a smirk. "And lovely teamwork. There's only one problem." His smirk grew. "You're never gonna get me to say-"

"I wish I'd never been Santa at all." Jack's voice came from one of the voice recording pens that they started selling. The man clicked the pen, turning it off, stopping Jack in his tracks as his face paled.

"Now who said that? Rudolph?" The man spoke in a mocking tone. "Rudolph's mama?" It was this man's turn to smirk as he grabbed onto Jack's arm.

"No!" Jack screamed at the snowglobe started to glow. It became brighter and brighter, causing Christine to shield her eyes and everything disappeared.


	7. Chapter 7

Christine swiftly shook her head before looking at the Newman family, still sitting next to the fireplace. They spoke for a few minutes, and she had no idea what to do. It wouldn't have made a difference, anyway.

"I feel bad." Carol spoke up. "I didn't mean to say that to Scott."

"Of course you didn't, sweetie." Sylvia rubbed a hand on her back. "It's just how you're feeling right now." Carol then placed a hand on her pregnant belly, knowing exactly what her mother meant.

"There's no reason to feel bad." Bud scoffed lightly with a shrug.

"Dad, please don't." Carol said with pleading eyes. He stayed silent after that. "Let's go find Scott. I want to apologize to him."

"Ok, whatever you want." Sylvia said with a sad smile.

The three of them started to walk out of the room, Christine followed behind. She was glad that they decided what to do amongst themselves and that she didn't need to be exactly involved.

Unable to find Scott in the hallways and any of the rooms that wouldn't cause suspicion about their location, since they still didn't know they were in the Pole, they walked outside. They hoped to find him somewhere soon. It was getting late and Carol said something about how "Scott has a busy night tonight at work." Christine, being the only one that knew even though it was unknown to Carol, gave a short nod and looked around the area.

"Carol!"

They were able to see Scott make his way over to the group. With a wide smile, he embraced his wife.

"Oh, Scott. We've been looking everywhere for you."

"Oh, Mrs. Claus, I missed you so much, so much."

"Wait, it's just been a few minutes." Carol said with a confused look as they broke apart and held hands.

"It's only been a few minutes?"

"Yes."

"Of course! It only takes a few minutes to see the truth of an entire lifetime." Scott laughed and Carol nodded her head, unsure of where this was going. "A man goes out into the world, and expects his dreams to come true. And then," he paused to wave at Bud and Sylvia, and Christine since she stood there as well. "The unexpected happens. Pick up a red coat and become Santa Claus. That's big, that's huge, that's huge! And it's a lot of pressure." Carol nodded along again. "I mean, taking care of all the children of the world, and the elves and the S.O.S. and the North Pole, but he loses sight of what's really important." He gave her a loving look. "The woman who falls in love with him and gives him a baby." He leaned down and lightly kissed her belly. "I love being Santa Claus, and I love you."

"I love you too." Carol whispered. "Have you been drinking cocoa?"

"No." He laughed. "I'm back."

"I've missed you very much." Carol got teary eyed as they hugged again.

"I missed you, too."

The two of them laughed as they held each other. Christine couldn't help but feel a slight pain in her chest watching the scene. It was so cute, and it made her a little angry. Why was she angry? She had no idea where these alien emotions were coming from.

"Hey, you guys know what happened?" Scott asked, walking over to them with his wife.

"No." Bud shook his head.

"We ticked each other off. That's it." Scott stated. "Just like families all over the world are doing on Christmas Eve that love each other: Ticking each other off. It's okay. They don't have to be perfect to be good families. We just have to be together." Sylvia looked on with an emotional smile when Scott and Carol hugged once more. Christine refrained from rolling her eyes. This was much more than just being 'ticked off' by her family.

"I'm still so very sorry that we just added to all this pressure that you're under." Sylvia then took a deep breath, looking at Bud before saying the next thing. "And I think that we should apologize. Don't you, honey?" Scott started to shake his head and wave it off.

"No. It's good I'm tough on him. I'm his father-in-law." Bud stated with a small smile. "It's my job." Carol chuckled at that, looking at Scott with a wide smile.

"As long as you promise to do it every Christmas, it's fine with me." Scott said.

"Well, we'll see about that." Bud said jokingly. "I'm a very busy guy."

"And so am I." Scott said. "And I'd like to show you guys what I do." He looked at Christine. "You too, Christine. You're also a part of this family."

"Oh, Scott, the S.O.S." Carol whispered in his ear.

"The S.O.S. is about secrets," Scott stated. "And secrets aren't for families. I'm tired of keeping you from your family," He said to Carol. "And Christine would be suffering through the secrets, as well. Lucy tells me how close the two of you are, so it only seems fair." He then looked at all of them. "So if you guys would follow me to my factory."

Curiosity crossed both of the Newman's features as they followed slowly behind Scott and Carol. Christine shrugged and followed suit.

"I have already known for a couple of hours." Christine stated slowly to Scott.

"How did you find out? Did Lucy tell you? Charlie?" Scott asked carefully.

"No. I walked into the factory and Jack told me." She said distantly. Where was Jack, anyway? She thought she saw him when they found Scott, but he wasn't there seconds later. So where did he go?

"I should have known." Scott sighed. "Well, this makes it a lot easier to explain it now."

Walking through the stained glass double doors, Sylvia and Bud were mystified. The people in there were the same small Canadians that they've been seeing the whole time here. Except they weren't Canadians.

"Elves!" Scott called into the room, causing the elves to stop what they were doing and look up. "Stop working for a minute." Elves stopped walking to where they were going and turned towards Scott. "I'd like you all to say hello to the in-laws!" Scott announced.

"Hello, in-laws!" The elves chanted with smiles and waves.

"Hello."

"How ya doin'?

Sylvia and Bud were both confused and watched as the elves went about their business. It was as if the two of them had a revelation.

"Elves." Bud muttered. "They're not Canadians, they're elves."

"Never said...like in person..." Sylvia was at a loss for words.

"Listen! If they're elves, this isn't a toy factory. This is probably Santa's workshop." Bud said, starting to get excited. "And if this is probably..." He trailed off as his wife continued, both looking at Scott, who was now dressed in his red coat and hat thanks to a few of the elves.

"If this is Santa's workshop..." Sylvia pointed at Scott. "Then he..."

"Then he's the guy." Bud finished. "Hey, you," Scott looked at them with a smile. "You're the guy. You're Father Christmas."

"It's a little freaky, but," Scott grinned with a shrug. "You'll get used to it."

"Whoa!" Bud and Sylvia were both grinning, as if they were children again. Speechless. "If you're Father Christmas, that means I'm Father Christmas' father-in-law. That means I'm Father-in-law Christmas!"

"And I'm Mother-in-law Christmas!" Sylvia laughed.

Christine sighed deeply. The surprise was obviously ruined for her. Of course, this only made her think about how she felt about her aunt and uncle. How mad she was. Her disappointment and anger seemed to grow over the past hour. She was almost seething in her anger.

Suddenly, there was a humanoid rabbit hopping around, pushing a cart. Christine was dumbfounded before realizing that since Santa Claus is real, why shouldn't the Easter Bunny, or anything else for that matter. But what was he doing here, in the North Pole?

"Hi, Santa!" He called over. "Hi, Bud! Sylvia!" He then looked at Christine. "Christine! You grew up!" He then paused. "Oh, the little pellets behind me? I'll clean those up later."

"Santa, Santa," A small, middle aged man wearing white robes and hovering with feathered wings approached Scott. "Where do you keep the Phillips screwdrivers?"

"Oh, uh," Scott thought for a second. "Elf construction. Talk to Irv, ok?" Just as he started flying off, Scott called him back. "Oh, Cupid!" He made his way back quickly. "At this altitude, you might want to consider an underdiaper."

"I don't mind the draft." Cupid shrugged, flying back to the direction he was directed in when Bud walked over to Scott.

"That was Cupid." Bud pointed at him.

"Yeah." Scott nodded.

"Hello, Santa." An elderly man with a long, white beard, a walking stick, and purple robes gave a peace sign in greeting from the second floor.

"Father Time." Scott smirked.

"Father Time, what next?" Bud was in disbelief.

"Well, hello, Santa." A tall, dark skinned woman wearing an elaborate headdress and a purple dress with various foliage around the skirt. "This is a blast!" She spoke in an excited voice.

"Mother Nature." Scott looked up at her. "How can I ever thank you for this?"

All of these legendary figures was almost as overwhelming for Christine as it was for Bud and Sylvia. She was sure even Carol felt the same when she was first introduced to this world.

"Don't thank me." She said with a smile. "He's the one who brought us here." She looked off to the side, where there was a familiar face sitting amongst the elves, helping build toys.

"Hey, dad!" Charlie called to Scott with a smile. "What's up, Chris?" He waved at Christine and she had to suppress a glare. Next to him sat Sandy, Scott's "associate," now wearing tan robes and a sleeping cap, yawning loudly. On the other side of Charlie was a man with pixie-like wings and a blue, dentists coat.

"Hi, Santa!" The man waved.

"Hey, Tooth." Scott waved. Christine could only assume it was the Tooth Fairy. And that Sandy was the Sandman.

"Checked with Curtis and found out you were falling behind," Charlie stated. "So I decided to call in professionals."

Christine was overwhelmed. Almost feeling dizzy. What a day, this was.


	8. Chapter 8

"Uncle Scott!" Lucy's voice cried throughout the workshop as she ran towards him with a snowglobe in hand, Curtis closely behind her.

"Lucy, what's the matter?" Scott asked with urgency.

"I found her locked in a closet!" Curtis announced.

"What's wrong?" Scott knelt down to her level, looking her straight into her distressed eyes.

"You've got to see what Frost did to my mom and dad!" Lucy exclaimed in a hectic voice.

Just then, a couple of elves started wheeling out statues, which looked remarkably like Neil and Laura. And Christine knew they actually were. Frozen alive, most definitely by Jack Frost. Normally, she would be adamant about trying to get them back to normal, because she cared about her family with every fiber of her being, even if she were upset with them. However, for some reason, Christine was indifferent about the situation. Almost like she couldn't care less. So all she did was look on at the scene with bored eyes.

While Scott reassured Lucy that everything was going to be all right, a pair of elf police officers barged into the workshop. Both of them roughly pulled Jack Frost by his arms towards Scott, and the other Legendary Figures. With a fierce glare, Scott approached Jack.

"Yeah, and?" Jack gave a shrug, waiting for Scott to say something.

"Elficers, I have him." Scott said, watching the officers release their hold on Jack and walk away. "Jack, this isn't funny. Unfreeze the parents right now."

"No way, Claus. I can't unfreeze them without unfreezing myself, and that is something I'll never do." Jack shook his head with a smirk.

"Why should he?" Christine suddenly spoke up, causing a small group of them to turn towards her. "They got what was coming to them." She crossed her arms and shrugged.

"You don't mean that, Chrissy!" Lucy cried, tears in her green eyes.

"What's gotten into you, Chris?" Charlie then asked, walking up towards her and Lucy. Christine just shrugged again. "I just hope you're in a bad mood and don't actually mean what you're saying." Charlie said, placing his hands on Lucy's shoulders, who clutched her snowglobe protectively to her chest.

"Mother Nature, help me out here." Scott pleaded, walking towards the tall woman. "Can you thaw him out?"

"I'm sorry, Santa." Mother Nature frowned. "Our powers don't work on other Legendary Figures."

"Isn't that a shame?" Jack's smirk grew while he buttoned up his suit coat.

During a small moment of silence, Scott stared at Lucy, a look of realization upon his face while she turned her innocent and hopeful eyes up towards him. Scott smiled softly as he walked up to her, kneeling down to look into her eyes.

"What do you say, Luce?" He asked, causing Christine to tilt her head in confusion.

"Do you think it'll work?" She asked him in a low voice.

"The question is, do you?"

Slowly and hesitantly, Lucy smiled lightly before glancing at Jack. She then handed Scott her snowglobe and nodded. Tentatively, she took her time to approach the Winter Sprite, step by step.

"Ok," chuckled Jack. "This is what you're all reduced to?" He was obviously amused. "Sending a little girl in to save the day, are we? What you gonna do, adorablize me? Sweet me into submission? Cute me to death? Make me change my," Lucy wrapped her arms around Jack as he exclaimed. "Way!"

A sudden and immense pain tightened in Christine's chest, causing her to gasp for air. She placed a hand over where her heart was, trying her best to lessen the feeling, but failing miserably. Her body started to grow colder, even though she was indoors. With her eyes, slowly growing in and out of focus and unable to move from her place, she continued to watch the scene.

"I feel so strange. It's so gushy inside." A pink colour came to his cheeks while he smiled. "Do I smell suntan lotion? I feel so tropical." He then turned to no one in particular. "_Miguel, dos platos de nachos, por favor._" Jack looked sharply at Lucy, who slowly let go of him and smiled. "What's happening to me?!"

"I'm warming your heart."

"But they told me it couldn't be done." Jack stated in shock as his frozen exterior continued melting, cracking, and slowly crumbling away.

"But they didn't know about magical hugs." Lucy then said.

It took a few more seconds before his dark blue suit turned into a pristine white one, and his once spiked back, icy hair was now a soft brown, swept to the side.

"I think I like it." He grinned, causing everyone in the room to smile.

All except Christine, who was unnoticed as she grew visibly weaker by the seconds.

With the sound of breaking ice, everyone looked to see Neil and Laura back to normal. Shivering from the cold, but back to normal. Lucy called out to them as she rushed towards them, enveloping her mother in a hug, Neil and Charlie joining in the embrace. When Neil called for a group hug, all the elves and Legendary Figures joined, wrapping their arms around each others shoulders in a crowd.

It only took one moment. One moment for Christine Miller's eyes to grow blurry, her body weak, and her breath shallow.

"...Help..."

* * *

><p>With a few gasps, the hug pulled apart and turned towards the sound of a thud behind them. On the ground was Christine, who had fallen to the floor in a heap, unconscious.<p>

"Christine!" Neil let go of his family and rushed towards his niece, Laura, Lucy, and Charlie right behind him. He called out her name again, placing a hand on her cheek, almost immediately withdrawing his hand. Her skin was freezing cold! Slowly, the colour drained from her face. "What's happening to her?" Neil demanded, looking up at the Legendary Figures. If anyone would have any answers, he would expect them to tell him.

"I knew something was wrong with her!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes filled with tears.

"She wasn't acting like her normal self." Charlie agreed with a quiet voice.

"What's happening?" Neil asked again, trying his best to remain calm in front of his wife and daughter, who were both crying at the scene.

"I don't know." Mother Nature was hesitant to give her answer, knowing it wasn't what anyone wanted to hear. "I don't know what is causing this. I'm not familiar with this kind of magic."

"I am." Cupid flew forward, hovering next to Neil. He placed a small hand on Christine's face and then looked up. "Her heart is frozen."

"Frozen?" Neil questioned. Right away, everyone turned their eyes towards Jack, who looked on with regretful eyes.

"Whatever you did, why didn't it reverse itself like when Neil and Laura were frozen?" Scott asked Jack, who avoided eye contact at all costs.

"It's a different kind of magic." Cupid defended for Frost. "Normally, it wouldn't have ended this way."

"Remember the Christine you saw before, Santa?" Jack finally spoke up, looking towards Mr. Claus. Everyone seemed confused as Scott's eyes widened as he nodded, remembering the Christine in the alternate reality. "That's what would have happened if I hadn't been thawed out, even a little bit. A completely different person, but out of danger."

"What do you mean?" Laura's voice shook with fear.

"Look at it this way," Cupid started. "It's almost like her life in in the veil. Not quite dying, but not quite alive, either." He spoke solemnly as Lucy broke into sobs, clutching her mother's coat.

"How is it you know about this, Cupid?" The Easter Bunny asked, tilting his head.

"Because this is emotional magic." He stated. "And who knows emotional magic better than the God of Love?"

"The only way to undo the magic is to take the frost upon her heart into myself once more." Jack explained. "She was vulnerable when I cast the spell on her. And now that I'm thawed, the frost on her heart cannot be controlled."

"But if you freeze yourself again, that would make everything we just did pointless." Scott protested.

"She'll come back to us." Jack said with a strange intensity in his eyes that no one has ever seen before. "If I become a troublemaker again, then so be it. I would rather have her be all right and happy than be suffering from something that I started."

Everyone seemed to be at a loss for words. Jack looked back at Neil with a questioning gaze. Neil took a moment before giving a curt nod in reply. Jack knelt down next to Christine, placing a hand over where her heart was. A dull glow overcame Christine's body, her ghostly white skin slowly but surely faded back to it's regular pink hue. The glow inched its way up Jack's arm, as his sleeve started to turn back to the frosted dark blue. It took less than a few minutes for Jack to look like how he was before as he removed his hand, a little less frozen but all the same.

A sharp gasp came from Christine as her eyes shot open. She pushed herself forward, causing her vision to spin and her head to throb. After taking a few deep and calming breaths, she finally spoke.

"What...happened?" Christine softly asked, looking at her uncle, seeing the unshed tears in Neil's eyes.

Christine couldn't remember much, nothing after when she spoke with Jack Frost after she found out she was in the North Pole. She just stared at her uncle in confusion about how she got where she was now, and what was going on.

No one spoke as they noticed Jack's form had disappeared from the workshop in a flurry of snow.


	9. Chapter 9

"You don't remember anything?" Laura asked, causing Christine to respond by shaking her head. Neil, Laura, and Christine all sat in the kitchen, alone. All of the elves were off in their homes for the night, Scott went off to deliver presents around the world, and Carol was now recuperating in the elfirmiry with her newborn son.

"I don't." Christine looked down at the mug of hot chocolate in her hands. "The last thing I remember is talking to Jack after I spoke to you guys about being in the North Pole. I was angry at you guys. And I don't know how, but I was able to confide in Jack mu feelings."

"It was probably part of his powers. He did say he cast some sort of spell on your heart." Neil explained. "He could easily convince you to trust him in your emotionally broken state. Which got worse while his magic worked."

Christine nodded at what he said, understanding it completely. It took time. The right moments, and the right words, and a bit of magic, for Christine to bypass her trust issues and to trust the Winter Sprite. The magic probably made it a lot easier. But how did he come across this magic? He should only control his winter powers of ice, snow, and frost, not of emotions.

"You're not still mad at us, are you?" Laura then asked, placing a hand on Christine's arm, rubbing it softly in a comforting manner.

"No, I'm not. I was only angry at the moment." Christine shook her head, looking into Laura's eyes. "I understand why you didn't tell me. It wasn't really your choice. And the fact that nobody wanted to risk me telling anyone outside of the Pole about it's existance. No one needs Christmas and the North Pole to cease to exist." Shortly before talking to Neil and Laura right now, Scott and Curtis explained the abridged version of the rules and regulations of the North. Curtis mainly spoke to her, since Scott went to be with his wife while she was giving birth to their son, named Buddy after Carol's father.

"I just want to make sure you're all right, sweetie." Laura reassured her, smiling softly. Christine smiled back and nodded, taking the last sip of her hot chocolate.

"When are we getting back?" She then asked, wondering when they'll be leaving the Pole.

"The day after tomorrow." Neil stated. "Laura and I are planning on helping out a bit around here while Carol is still recovering. Lucy also wants to see the baby."

"I bet she does. She's so excited." Christine smiled fondly about her little cousin, being excited to see Buddy for the first time. "And Charlie's staying here, too?"

"No, he's going back to see Danielle and her parents. He left them in the middle of the night, so hopefully they'll still be alseep and won't notice his disappearance." Laura explained. "Scott went to drop him off while delivering presents."

"That's good. We don't need any more chaos, am I right?" Christine laughed lightly. "I'm going to head to my room. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Merry Christmas, sweeite." Laura said as Christine stood from the table.

"Merry Christmas."

* * *

><p>"Cupid!" Christine, on her way to her room, spotted Cupid still hovering around the workshop with the other Legendary Figures, minus Santa Claus. So she called him over, hopefully to answer a couple of her questions. "I have something to ask."<p>

"Shoot." He gestured to her so she could continue.

"Well, even though I don't remember anything, I'm being told about how Jack cast a spell on my heart. Could you tell me about that?" She asked with curiosity. "You're the genius in that department, I believe."

"Of course, of course." Cupid beamed at the 'genius' comment. "Even though I have no idea what started it all, you had ended up upset about something." Christine nodded along. "Jack must've found out about a trick I use to get people to fall in love with each other." He saw Christine furrow her eyebrows. "I know, you both are not in love with each other. It's just a spell that tricks people into thinking they could be in love. It is very simple magic, but I have no idea how he had figured out the spell."

"How does it work?" Christine tilted her head, her short hair swaying against her right shoulder.

"All it takes is one emotional mortal. I'm guessing he found you in your upset state." Christine nodded again at that. "The spell starts by transferring emotions through touch, and a couple of words that usually I would have to feed through the persons mind, but seeing as he is a Legendary Figure too, he was able to do it without any of my assistance. He must have combined the simple spell that I use with his own wintery magic, and that is how he was able to freeze your heart."

"What caused me to forget what happened?" She finally asked.

"His frost on your heart started small, but it eventually grew and changed you. Your mood. Your personality. Everything. The normal you was dormant inside, safe, but unable to emerge. And when he was thawed out by your cousins hug, the frost was uncontrollable. It could have killed you, but it somehow kept you in a comatose state." It was his turn to look confused. "Which is very curious, by the way. I don't understand how that could have happened."

Regardless of creating new questions, Christine was satisfied for the moment that most of hers have been answered. She thanked Cupid for his help and then went along her merry way.

It was late, and it was Christmas, she wanted to wake up at a decent time and spend the day with her family.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Christine awoke with a yawn and small shiver. For a moment longer, she cuddled under the soft, emerald sheets of her bed and kept her eyes closed. When she slowly opened the bright blue orbs, she was welcomed by a warm light shining through the stained glass windows, causing colours of varying shades to dance across the floor.<p>

Finally, she sat up and stretched her arms over her head, suppressing another yawn. Like always, she woke up dressed in her favourite sleeping clothes, black sweatpants that she bought in college with the word Vassar written on the left leg, and a grey t-shirt that had a picture of a Siberian Husky on it, her favourite dog breed. She had always hopped to get one as a puppy, but she had never gotten around to it. So, she just bought merchandise about them for the time being.

Christine had slowly took her time standing up and digging into her suitcase. She pulled out a pair of black jeans and an orange, long sleeve shirt. Quickly, she changed and got ready for her day.

Within moments, she was down in the kitchen, greeted by her family. Lucy glanced at her warily. Like she expected Christine to say something mean, like before. But Christine only smiled and sat down next to her cousin.

"Merry Christmas, everybody." Christine grinned, fixing a plate of food from the feat that was before her. Eggs and pancakes and hashbrowns, it was almost like a breakfast you would expect in a Hobbit's home, and it made her excited for the day.

"Glad to see you're back to normal." Scott smiled. "I know we spoke a bit last night after everything, but you look well rested and much better than before."

"Thanks." Christine laughed, taking a bite of the hashbrowns on her plate.

"So, you're really back to normal?" Lucy asked carefully.

"Yes, I am." Christine lightly nudged her shoulder and continued to eat. "Are you excited to see your presents?"

"Yeah!" Lucy beamed, finally comfortable with the old Christine.

On a regular occasion, gifts were opened right away, and then they would eat breakfast. But since they were up in the North Pole, they wanted the celebration to last. Sylvia and Bud excused themselves to go see Carol and the baby while everyone else made it to Scott's study, which now had a cleaned up and decorated Christmas tree. A brand new treetopper that looked just like the old one, as if it never shattered, now sat upon the top branch.

Christine wanted to wait until after everyone else that wanted to open their gifts to open hers. Of course, Scott wanted to be last, since he was one to impress about the gifts he gave them, so Christine went and opened hers just after Neil and Laura. Lucy had long since opened her presents, and was now gushing over the new stuffed sheep toy she got, Clutching it to her chest, she watched as Christine opened her first gift.

"A notebook!" Christine grinned wildly. It was a leather bound journal, with faded yellow pages. purposely decorated for the antique look.

"We thought that since you graduated college with anthropology, you would need something to write all your notes in for when you get a job in that department." Neil stated.

"Thanks, guys. I love it!"

One after another, Christine opened her presents. Each one she exclaimed about how much she loved that sweater, or was excited to watch that movie, or even read that book. But the one thing she loved the most was that notebook that Neil and Laura got her. It was thoughtful of them, thinking about her future in the field she was hoping to work in.

* * *

><p>With all her gifts in her arms, she walked back towards her room. She had to figure out how to fit everything back into her single suitcase. Unfortunately, that may not be possible, and she may have to use an extra bag.<p>

In her room, Christine had opened her suitcase on her bed, trying her best to organize everything in a way that it all could fit within the small nooks and crannies. Although, like she assumed, it would take another small bag for her to bring everything home.

There was a small breeze, which caused Christine to turn towards the window. When had she opened it? Did she even open it at all? Small flakes of snow dusted the windowsill and floor under the window. Immediately, she knew what was going on.

"Jack?" She turned to another corner of the room, where Jack Frost was sitting in a chair, legs crossed and lounging back into the seat. She brought up her walls and narrowed her eyes at him. Sure, he may have saved her, but he also put her in danger. "What are you doing here?"

"What?" He shrugged with his regular, devilish smirk. "I can't stop by and wish a Merry Christmas to Santa and his guests?" He stood up when she didn't reply. "Look, I really am sorry about what happened." Jack held a serious look in his blue eyes, sincere in his words. "Believe me, I am going to go straight to the Council after today, and turn myself in. I just wanted everyone to have a nice and calm Christmas. That's why I left so suddenly." He approached her, and Christine took a few steps back, her glare wavering. How could she trust what he's saying now if he were lying earlier? "Whatever magic your little cousin has pulled on me, it worked and it still is." She has seen him being thawed out by Lucy, but she couldn't remember it, and she could see the remnants of it on his person. His suit was less frosted than before, his eyebrows were void of ice, and his hair was more of a white instead of a pale blue, looking more like snow instead of icicles. "Looking back now, I don't know why I did what I have done to you or everyone. And I really am sorry. You don't have to forgive me, but just know that I mean what I say." After one last look in her eyes, he turned towards the window, The room grew colder and a small breeze and snowflakes flew through the air around him.

"Jack?" Christine spoke hesitantly. He looked at her over his shoulder and saw that her glare vanished and she was smiling lightly at him. "Merry Christmas."

And with that, he was gone once again.

* * *

><p><strong>Again, I don't like putting these in my stories. I just want to let everyone know that updates will be on my profile, and any questions and concerns will be answered there if not in the story. All of the story has been planned out long in advance to being posted, so not much of it will be changing.<strong>

**I hope you continue to enjoy it, because as a practicing writer, I love when people are positive about my works.**

**This is AJ, signing off!**


	10. Chapter 10

Christine stood outside. Tomorrow was the day she was leaving for Neil and Laura's home. And then a couple days after that, back to her own home. She wasn't really looking forward to leaving. Of course, she would love to stay here in the Pole, but she knew that was a dream that would never come true. In reality, she didn't want to leave her uncle's house.

Because of college and paying off her student loans, she was still living with her father. She really didn't feel like seeing him again. She loved him, in her own way, but she was really not interested in going home any time soon.

Pacing her feet, she walked around the lightly wooded area outside of Elfsburg, which is what she found out the name of the North Pole was. With the light snow falling from the sky and the green scenery, it was a picture perfect moment, and she wanted it to last forever. Which made the concept of leaving even more difficult to process.

"What are you doing out here?" Christine turned at the female voice, spotting the Legendary Figure, Mother Nature. "It's a little cold out here for a mortal. You should be inside."

"I'm fine." Christine looked down at the sleeves of her coat. "My coat is warm enough. Besides, I don't mind the cold."

"It seems that way." Mother Nature chuckled. "Jack Frost turned himself in, this morning."

"I know." Christine turned away, looking at the trees again. "He told me he would do that, yesterday."

"You spoke to him?" The immortal questioned the woman. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I felt he needed another chance." Christine placed a hand on a tree trunk, looking up at the canopy. "What are you going to do to him?"

"Suspension. Like we originally planned." Mother Nature walked up next to Christine. "Just for a little while, and then we check up on how he has been doing, if he really has changed. In the meanwhile, I'll be taking over his duties over the winter months." She held up her hand and made a tiny cyclone of snow in her palm. "I'm a little rusty at it, though. I haven't needed to work on the elements since my children came into being."

"I'm sure." Christine smiled up at her. "You're the origin of all that is of the Earth, the embodiment of Nature, so it would make sense." She then paused. "Why are you here, talking to me about Jack?"

"Because of what you have been through. We all suffered on Christmas Eve, but you most of all." Mother Nature placed a hand on Christine's shoulder. "I just wanted to make sure there was no permanent damage on your being. Being frozen is dangerous."

"So I have been told. I appreciate you checking in on me."

"Of course." Mother Nature smiled lightly. "You should head back. Your uncle is looking for you."

"Do you mind," Christine trailed off for a second. "If I talk to Jack again?"

"Are you sure that is wise?" Mother Nature asked. "After all he has done?"

"Regardless of whether or not I should, I just have the sudden urge to. We spoke yesterday, but I wasn't," she trailed off again, staring at her feet.

"...Sure." Mother Nature. "But only for a few minutes."

Christine nodded and made her way back to town. Mother Nature watched on with worried gaze.

* * *

><p>Humming along to a song that was playing in her head, Christine walked along the halls of the workshop. After a few moments, she halted in her steps, a cool feeling of deja vu overcame her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head. Ignoring the feeling, she continued on her way.<p>

She went off to find Jack, like she told Mother Nature that she was going to do. It was her last day in the Pole, so she wanted one last chance to speak with him. Since she didn't really get a chance yesterday, she decided to ask him some questions today. But only a few minutes, like Mother Nature said.

"Jack?" Christine called into the library-like room that she was directed to by a few elves. It was slightly similar to Scott's study, just more books and minus the fireplace that looked like his face. Just a regular, brick fireplace next to a green, red, and gold plaid couch. "Are you in here?"

"Ah, Christine, what a surprise." Jack turned around from the bookshelf he was looking at. "I wasn't expecting to see you again. After everything that has happened. I would have completely understood if you would have despised me forever." He turned back to read over the spines of the books on the shelves.

"I don't despise you, Jack. I may be on guard around you now, but I would never despise anyone." Christine explained, stepping up next to him, also reading off the titles of the books. "I just want to know a few things. To understand what you did a bit more, if you don't mind me asking."

"Ask away." Jack was immediate in his answer, sending her a sideways grin. She smiled lightly and thought about what to ask first.

"Why did you freeze my heart?" She asked. It was the most important thing on her mind about the whole situation.

"Like I said before, I don't really know why I did what I have done." Jack stated with a small shrug. "I think at the time, it just seemed like the wrong thing to do. And by wrong, I mean right, since I only wanted to cause trouble. I wanted everything to be about me. I wanted things to happen on my terms. When you agreed to help me because of the spell I cast, you didn't know what you were signing up for." After that explanation, he turned and walked towards the couch, sitting down amongst the cushions. "I was underappreciated, and I felt that if I were Santa, I could be acknowledged."

"If you were Santa?" Christine tilted her head.

"Oh, right." Jack laughed. "Nobody remembers, because it technically never happened. You see, I had tricked Scott into the Escape Clause. Which basically means that if he wished he wasn't ever Santa, then there was a rewind in time, and the job of Santa Claus was up for grabs." He looked a bit guilty and avoided Christine's eyes. "I had taken that away from Scott, and then I became Santa Claus."

"Let me get this straight," Christine sat down next to him, staring right at his face even though he refused to look at her. "You wanted to become Santa so much that you made up this devious plan to get your way? But what does this have to do with me? And freezing my heart?"

"Because one of the many Clauses that comes from being a Legendary Figure such as Santa is one called the _Misses Clause_." He had a quick glance at her before looking away again. "To stay as Santa, I would have needed to get married."

"So," Christine paused for a moment, clearing her throat. "You froze my heart to get to me in an alternate reality? To be your," There was a light pink blush across her cheeks. "Wife?"

"I keep repeating myself," Jack said in an awkwardly high voice. "I don't really know why I did all of that. It just seemed like the thing to do."

"I get it." Christine said in a quiet voice. "I was an easy target. It makes a bit of sense now that you explain it a bit more to me."

"So," Jack hesitated before looking at her. "You're not mad?"

"I'm still a little bit upset with you. But really, no. I'm not mad." Christine explained with a small smile. "It's nice knowing some of what's going on inside that frosted head of yours." Jack smiled at that and watched as she stood up. "I said I would only talk for a few minutes, Mother Nature tells me of your suspension."

"Yeah, I'm totally looking forward to that." Jack said in his usual sarcastic tone. "But, you do the crime, you do the time."

"Exactly." Christine said with a nod. "It was nice speaking with you, Jack. I've got to go now."

"See you around, Christine." Jack waved lazily to her when she walked out of the room. It was almost as if he planned on talking to her again. Christine thought it was unlikely, and it was just something that he said at the moment. And to be perfectly honest, despite their 'rocky' relationship, she couldn't help but look forward to seeing him again in the future.

* * *

><p>"How is the little guy?" Christine slowly and quietly walked into the elfirmary, where Carol was. She hasn't seen her since before she gave birth, so she wanted to wish her well before she left. "And how is the brave mama?"<p>

"Oh, hello, Christine." Carol smiled softly, holding Buddy in her arms. "We're doing well. How have you been since things happened?"

"Pretty good, myself." Christine walked over and stood at her bedside, looking down at the small child. "May I?" She held her arms out, seeing that Buddy was awake, despite his eyes still being closed.

"Of course." Carol gingerly handed Christine her baby, and with a small swoop of her arms, Christine was lightly bouncing him around so that he wouldn't fuss. "You seem like a natural."

"Well, Lucy." She needn't say any more. Christine giggled as the boy made an adorable sounding gurgle. "I've always loved kids. All my friends already started their own families."

"You haven't found the right guy yet, have you?" Carol asked, knowing the answer before she even asked the question.

"Nope. Not yet." Christine spoke quietly, watching the baby start to fall asleep in her arms. "Buddy sure is adorable."

"Thank you." Carol giggled slightly, slowly taking him back into her arms as to not wake him up. "Are you all leaving tomorrow? I know my parents are staying for a few days longer."

"Yes, I'm leaving with my aunt and uncle." Christine nodded at that. "I'll miss this, but it isn't my place. I appreciate being able to visit, though. I really do. I would love to see you," She lightly brushed her fingers against the back of Buddy's hand. "And little Buddy again. That is, if you don't mind."

"Of course, not." Carol grinned. "We'd love to see you come by. Whenever you can."

"Thank you." Christine turned towards the door. "Rest well. Bye, bye." She waved and walked out of the room.


	11. Chapter 11

Hanging her head to the side lazily, Christine closed her eyes and did her best to suppress a yawn. After the exciting trip back to Neil and Laura's house from the North Pole, to which Christine was still reeling about the fact that the reindeer could actually fly a sleigh, she was exhausted. And that was putting it lightly. It wasn't even dinner time yet at the house, and all she could think about was sleep.

"Go take a nap, if you're so tired." Neil suggested, watching her lean her head against her arm on the tabletop.

"Nah, I'm fine." Her voice was slightly muffled by the large yawn she let out. Embarrassed from the involuntary act, she placed a hand over her mouth. "Maybe you're right. I'll go." Her eyelids were way too heavy for the moment. "Wake me for dinner."

With that, she stood from her seat and sluggishly walked up the stairs, towards the guest room. It was only a few days ago that she was last in this room, but out of her habit of keeping things nice and clean, it almost looked as if it had gone undisturbed all together. Not even bothering to change out of her jeans and olive hoodie, she curled up on top of the soft grey bedsheets and closed her eyes. Within seconds, she was asleep.

* * *

><p>It was the North Pole, where she found herself. The fresh snow crunched beneath her brown boots as she walked towards the trees. These were the same trees she stood before when she spoke to Mother Nature. Just like then, it was a picture perfect moment. The snowflakes slowly decended from the sky towards her, the sun shone and caused the sky to change to a pallet of pastel colours. Christine closed her eyes and took a deep breath, breathing in the fresh, wintry air. She could barely even feel the chill of the cold due to her thick coat, but her nose and cheeks could. It didn't really bother her that much, and she welcomed the feeling as it comforted her.<p>

* * *

><p>Stirring in her sleep, Christine slowly opened her eyes. It was about an hour and a half since she fell asleep, and she was disturbed by a nearby sound. A nearby voice.<p>

"Chrissy, it's time for dinner." Lucy smiled in the doorway, coaxing her older cousin to get up and join them to eat.

"I'll be down in a moment." Christine smiled at her before she walked away. With a stretch, Christine stood up from the guest bed. A cold draft entered the room, and she hurriedly turned her head from side to side to look for it. It was then she noticed her window was cracked open, just barely an inch. And then she walked over and closed the framed glass panel.

All she could think about was Jack Frost. He had entered her room through an open window on Christmas up at the North Pole. In a sense, she missed him. He has done terrible things, but he is trying to make up for them. As much as she could tell. And when she spoke to him, he actually seemed to listen to her. She no doubt listened to him. He was fascinating, to her. But perhaps that was her professional side, how she always wants to learn about everything. Everything of the strange and magical. And since finding out that magic was real, in every sense of the word, she was drawn to it almost immediately. After recovering from the spell Jack cast on her, she wanted to learn more. She couldn't stop thinking.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she barely realized she sat at the dinner table with everyone, eating the meal that Neil and Laura cooked together. Everyone spoke, but their voices were distant in her mind.

With a strange chill running up and down her spine, she considered the fact that maybe this spell that she was recovering from had permanently changed her.

There were still so many questions, and she needed them answered or else they would nag her to distraction, like they were now.

"You barely touched your food, Christine. Are you all right?" Laura asked warily, causing Christine to look up from her plate and smile.

"Yeah, I've just been thinking a lot. Don't worry about me."

She was in a daze for the rest of the night. Thinking about her dream. Because thinking about the dream made her think about the North Pole. And thinking about the North Pole made her think of Jack Frost.

Sure, he was manipulating everyone around him into getting his way, to become Santa Claus, at the expense of their suffering. It may have been her imagination, but she and him had some sort of connection. Maybe it was just her overreacting. It didn't change the fact that something inside of her felt strange when she thought of him. A good strange.

At first, she was wary of him. Because she was unsure of him, as she was with everyone she meets for the first time. But how he spoke to her convinced her to trust him, he seemed funny, nice even. Unfortunately, it was just a front for his trickster personality. And then there was the fact that he changed who she was, in the form of magic. A combination of Cupid's emotional magic and Jack's ice magic. She was still quite a bit mad about that. He played her like a violin. Christine didn't appreciate that.

However, after he was thawed, he changed. Saved her life. She was indebted to him for that. And Jack seemed to be sincerely apologetic about that before she left.

Jack Frost was the only person that intrigued her this much, to plague her thoughts with him. He's a different person than he was before, and she can't help but learn about him in the past as well as the future.

Maybe, just maybe, she could spend a little more time with her uncle and his family. Maybe, she could learn a little bit more about Scott, and the Legendary Council. As long as it leads her to seeing, talking to Jack Frost again.

* * *

><p>Just a couple of hours after dinner, she couldn't find it in herself to fall asleep. And so, after reading a bit more to Lucy before she went to sleep, she sat on her bed, holding her new journal in her hands.<p>

The whole point of this leather bound beauty was so that she could keep her thoughts and research in it. For her future career, whatever that may be. She has always wanted to be some kind of historian, maybe even work in a museum for a time. But now her interests are changing, even if it's the slightest bit.

Magic is real! That thought is still reeling in her mind. Christine had always wished it were real, in the more fictional sense of the word, not the spiritual that is well known throughout the world today. But of course, she must keep everything secret, on lock down in her head. It was just, after reading about magic and all forms of it within the novels of her childhood, she couldn't help but feel excited. Like she was a kid again. She wanted to scream it out to the world, if it would release the ball of giddiness bouncing within her chest.

She thought about how she grew up, believing in magic when all things seemed dark in her past. And how she came to find that everything she dreamed of was true. Many years after she stopped believing, became an adult but had not grown out of the fantasies. It was true.

"It's all true..." Christine smiled to herself.

And so, as she stared at the dark brown leather cover in her hands, she decided what she was going to store in these pages.

Her own story.

* * *

><p><strong>For now, for a little while, this will be it. I do have an idea for a few things to put into this story. Like, I had an idea about the alternate timeline, and maybe just a sequel to this. I'm not positive yet.<strong>

**I've just been so busy this past week of course because of the Holiday's, and it took me forever to figure out where to bring this story. And there's also the fact that my interests tend to shift very easily, but I will try to finish this before starting anything else.**

**So, it will be a while before the next chapter. Jack will be back soon, I swear!**

**Thank you for all the reviews and follows. I appreciate them. Immensely.**

**This is AJ, signing out!**


End file.
